

Leaflets in Urdu and English were left at the scene, and Ahmed Marwat, a spokesperson for Jundullah that is one of the splinter groups of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan said that Jundullah claims the attack. Jundullah has claimed an affiliation to the Islamic State (IS) and this has to be viewed as credible. This is believed to be the first time that Ismailis have been targeted in this way, and there is, apart from stunned shock in the Ismaili community, confusion and puzzlement as to why they were singled out on this occasion. The butchery also gives the lie to the effectiveness — or otherwise — of the ongoing operation in Karachi that has yet to tackle successfully any of the extremist religious groups, some of which have political affiliations. The ruthless ferocity of this attack may be indicative of IS involvement or influence, and has provoked a swift response with the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif cancelling a planned visit to Sri Lanka and moving instead to Karachi. The butchers cannot be allowed to prevail.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 14th, 2015.
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